For the Indian populace TV ads have always played a very big role in our scope of entertainment. Off late creative TV Ads have taken a back seat with all the celebrity endorsements that go on. So when MakeMyTrip launched their recent campaign for #BefikarBookKar we were pleasantly surprised to see Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh not just endorsing the brand but actually providing us with quick shots of entertainment. They also reminded us of some of the other TV ads that did a great job of mimicking real life characters to create interesting and funny ads.
Beauty and the Body Builder
In the first storyline for #befikarBookKar a well groomed, muscular guy swaggers into a hotel, with the single-minded purpose of charming a discount out of the pretty receptionist. See what happens next.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pmgdL_Doag
Babumoshai in Mumbai
In the second storyline for #BefikarBookKar there is a Bengali ‘bhalo chhele’ (good boy) who has just arrived in Mumbai and needs the smooth talking taxi driver to get him to a hotel. Does he get anywhere?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADR7NF1sl3o
The Others We Have Loved Over Time
Aamir as different men from different states
While working with Coca Cola, Aamir Khan donned the characters of different people from different states. From the Punjabi guy trying to impress female travellers to the Bihari Babu, impressing girls again, these were some of the most entertaining characterisations in adverts.
Aamir’s Coke Avatars
Aamir as an old man, a woman, husband and wife and so on
Aamir Khan has probably done the maximum number of ads where he has donned interesting characters. After Coke, he moved to Tata Sky, where he played almost everything from an old man to a beautiful woman.
Aamir’s Tata Sky Avatars
Shahrukh as DadaJi
Shahrukh Khan is another major player in the world of endorsement but during the Tata Sky and DishTV acquisition wars, Shahrukh also played an old man for a DishTV advert.
SRK as DadaJi
Shahrukh as Sachin Tendulkar
Shahrukh also donned the character of Sachin Tendulkar for a Pepsi Ad and the characterisation was very nicely blended into the story line because the fake Sachin actually meets the real Sachin in the Ad.
SRK as Tendulkar
Amitabh as the pandit at a marriage
Amitabh Bachchan is always going to be something else. In this Ad for Boro Plus he played a Pandit Ji who is spewing out ‘Managalam Bhagwan Vishnu…’ and recommending Boro Plus in the same rushed tone of speaking mantras.
Big B as PanditJi
Amitabh as the government officer’s PA
Another good one, where Amitabh plays the PA for a government babu, with the full on accent, hairstyle, and safari suit.
Big B as Babu’s PA
Kangana as the conscious consumer
Now Kanagana is beautiful to watch, no matter what she does. For TataSky she has donned the avatar of a budget conscious consumer giving advice to viewers on how to save money at every stage of their entertainment.
Kangana as Next Door Bhabi Ji
Kangana as a Neta
A phenomenal example of characterisation in an Ad, this one has Kangana playing a Neta who is trying to justify her actions.
Vote for Kanagana
Juhi Chawla as mother of a prospective groom
Ohhh this one is one of my favourites from the Kurkure campaign. Juhi plays the proud mother of a prospective groom, and she knows exactly which characteristics of her son she should lead with, in order to get the girl for her buck-toothed son.
Juhi as MummyJi
Abhishek as a Government Babu
We don’t get to see much of him, but Abhishek was the face of ‘What an Idea, Sirjee!’ In this one he is playing a government official with the full bush shirt, little vanity bag clutched under his arms, and the thick glasses.
Junior B as SirJi
Nice walk down memory lane, and we hope MakeMyTrip continues to do more ads like these for their #BefikarBookKar campaign.
Author: Tora Sen
